I'm based in the historical city of York and have been making glass beads since 2006. I'm selftaught in lampworking (glass bead making) and studied jewellery at Sheffield Hallam University and graduated in 2000 with a BA honours degree.

My inspirations mainly come from nature. I'm especially interested in marine life and the ocean, I find the colours and patterns found on the fish, anemones and corals fascinating.

I like working in glass as I like the effects that can be achieved. The transparent quality gives me the opportunity to add intrigue to a bead, sometimes by inserting bubbles whilst layering iridescent colours gives great depth.

All my beads are individually handmade from mainly Italian glass. The glass comes in rod form which I heat on a torch and manipulate by winding the molton glass around a thin steel rod to form a bead. I anneal all my beads in a digitally controlled kiln which cools slowly and the beads become much tougher. I then clean the hole and etch some before I string them together to form jewellery. I use Sterling Silver, Swarovski crystals and fresh water pearls to compliment the piece.